'Nuff Said
= Biography = Origins It all started in the summer of 2003, in North Falmouth, Cape Cod Massachusetts, soon to be christened "West San Philly" in an off-the-cuff monologue. Doug Linse and Jamie O'Connell were eager to start a new skit series. Based on the success of The Real World, they tried to think of another MTV show to parody. It struck them almost immediately: Making the Band. Linse and O'Connell had collaborated musically before, so it seemed logical. They sat down and wrote a ridiculously stupid song entitled "Breaking My Heart" (which later became the first track on their debut album), and prepared to make a skit. However, they hadn't come up with a name for their fake band yet. After lots of thought and failed suggestions (all of which were caught on tape, by the way), O'Connell came up with "the stupidest possible band name", 'Nuff Said. Sutton Dewey Later that summer, Linse and O'Connell reconvened in North Falmouth, this time joined by Sutton Dewey. Doug and Sutton had worked together (musically) in The Sutton Dewey Experience, so Linse already knew that Dewey had the voice of an angel. They decided to make another episode of MTB, and introduce Sutton as a new character, "Gary Smoff". Together, Dewey and O'Connell wrote a hip-hop song called "West San Philly", based on the fictional town where the members of 'Nuff Said met. This line-up would remain solid for well over two years. Becoming A Real Band Upon the showing of MTB2, the Wazoo community embraced "West San Philly", making it a sort of Wazoo anthem. One morning, in September of 2003, Dewey and O'Connell approached Linse in their highschool hallway to tell him about a song they had composed while watching the World Series, called "Day Old Representation". Word of the new song spread, and hype was high. Around this time, 'Nuff realized that people could appreciate them as much for their music as for their humorous skits. They had thought about having a full length album before, as a way to compile all of the songs they had made for the skits. Yet, in December, Linse and O'Connell recorded an improvised Christmas song, the now-legendary "7-11". This was the first 'Nuff Said song recorded without any connection to Making the Band. Soon, they began writing many songs that were entirely unrelated to the series, such as "Superman" and "Matrixy". As songs for the album began accumulating, and the group would perform acoustic renditions of the new tunes at Doug Parties, demand for a full-length, full-band concert grew. The band organized a Cystic Fibrosis benefit concert for April 10th, 2004, at the American Legion in Medfield. At this time, Dewey and O'Connell still shared vocal duties equally, so they enlisted Dan Mullaney as their drummer. They began practicing, and pulled together arrangements of several songs, some classics, some covers, some debuts. However, before this concert, the band went and played a show for their friend Dan Palermo at Boston Children's Hospital, which was truly their first concert. The Legion concert went without a hitch, and all the attendees raved about the performance. 'Nuff Said were truly a band. "Worse Than Before, Better Than Ever", Reshaping the Band, "The Slow Album" 'Nuff Said's debut album, "Worse Than Before, Better Than Ever" was originally meant to be premiered at WWFF, yet was not completed until JFF2. It was hailed almost immediately as a Wazoo classic. Yet, at this same FF, the 'Nuff, who had previously held dominion over the Wazoo music scene, experienced a crushing defeat in the Battle of the Bands. The audience was unimpressed with the performance (a three-person acoustic set), and their set ended after the second song, as they were about to play "7-11", and Jack Samels told them not to. Shaken by this discouraging event, the group realized that the format they had been working in for the past year or so needed some changing. So, O'Connell obtained a drum set and began practicing. They debuted their new approach to live performance at CFF, and the audience was blown away. Dewey took lead vocals on most songs, O'Connell drummed (although occasionally contributing vocals), and Linse not only jammed out on guitar, but played some keys, as well. Meanwhile, recording was in progress for a follow-up to their debut, "The Slow Album". The concept of this album was that they would take select songs from their repertoire and rework them as epic, piano-driven ballads or acoustic folk tunes. Recording began in the summer of 2004, and commenced in March of 2005. This album was a big hit among fans, and many still maintain that it is a milestone in Wazoo music. While most of the tracks on "Worse Than Before..." were straightforward pop or rap tunes, "The Slow Album" often showed an increased musical complexity, evident in such tunes as the epic, seven minute long take on "Breakin' My Heart". Following the popularity of this release, they organized another concert, the May 7th 2005 Pfaff Center show, which is revered as one of their best. People had always enjoyed 'Nuff Said shows, but this was the first that truly impressed people. They had played a show in between their CFF performance and this, a formative first performance as a three piece, which showed potential, but still obviously was in need of work. There were no such feelings at this show. O'Connell spent pretty much the whole show behind the drums, while Dewey became a true frontman, providing glorious vocals on all of the songs. The lineup was beginning to solidify. Musical Progression In the summer of 2005, the band reconvened once again in North Falmouth to spend a week practicing and writing new music. The town of Medfield had recently announced that they were having a "Fallfest" to showcase local musical talent, and 'Nuff Said were eager to impress the audience with a strong performance. This week was notoriously unproductive, even by 'Nuff Said standards (they once missed an open mic night performance because they spent five hours playing Tony Hawk 2 instead), however, they did manage to write one new song, which Linse penned in a few minutes in a sudden bolt of inspiration. They began playing it that week, with some temporary, incomplete lyrics. When they once again began practicing back in Medfield for Fallfest, the song was complete, and it quickly became their strongest song. When Pete Day and Jack Samels witnessed one of these practices, they proclaimed it to be 'Nuff Said's best song. Yet, it still had no name. Frustrated by the inability to think of a suitable name, O'Connell suggested that they just call it "Purple Bricks", a totally meaningless name. They began calling it that in practice, and it stuck. This song marked a significant transition in 'Nuff Said's songwriting. They became more musically ambitious, a trait shown at the Pfaff concert they played as a follow-up to Fallfest. They played many new songs which showcased their newfound advancement in songwriting; "I Couldn't Face It" featured Sutton Dewey on piano, "The Man Who Lost His Mind" began as an ominous synth song before morphing into a classic rocker, and "Believing in the Man" was an epic ballad, complete with a classic Dewey theremin solo. They were definitely moving towards something... Pete Day, Musical Heyday As the songs 'Nuff Said were writing became more musically adventurous, they realized that they would need at least one more member to fill out the new sound they were striving for. The decision of who to ask to join was a pretty obvious one to them: Pete Day. He had played with them several times in the past, when they needed a second guitarist on some songs, and had been jamming with them at recent practices. They decided to invite him to jam with them and ask him to join the band. They would later describe it as being like "asking a girl out". Pete said "yes", and he became the official fourth member of 'Nuff Said, and this was the official, final line-up. After a few practices with Day, they unveiled this new line-up at O'Connell's 2005 Christmas Party, where they played a special Christmas version of "Ripped Out" and an extended jam of "Crater Lake". They recorded a two-track single for a battle of the bands contest, studio versions of "Purple Bricks" and "Believing in the Man", which became, in this new setting, one of the 'Nuff's most epic tracks. They also filmed a music video for "Purple Bricks", directed by Andrew Thomas. Expectations were high for the new lineup to play a full set at Springfest, which was to take place that May. The group began practicing hard for this event. However, Day soon realized that the date of Springfest was the same as his school's weekend long retreat, and he would not be able to perform with the group. They originally considered not performing, but they decided to go on as a trio. For the last three songs, they enlisted the aid of The Tangents, to help achieve the epic sounds they strove for. This proved to be a good choice, as their Springfest performance is renowned as the best of their career. They opened with a cover of Muse's "New Born", with Alex H on bass and Dewey wailing through a megaphone. Then they played the classic "Wednesday", followed by "Disorder", a song they had played once about a year prior, that had been reinvigorated in the new setting. It was one of the most energetic performances of the night, with Linse leaping around the stage, O'Connell pounding the drums, and, on the song's coda, Dewey entering the audience with a cowbell. After this came a cover of Harveydanger's "Flagpole Sitta", a song that became a staple of the sets around this time, and then the three songs with the Tangents. "Believing in the Man" and "Purple Bricks" were epic, inspirational show-stoppers, with all the members of the bands harmonizing like a choir on "Believing in the Man" and Andrew Hoffman and Fred Soligan battling a stuffed tiger during "Purple Bricks". They ended the night with a cover of the Beatles' "Helter Skelter", which blew minds. To quote Allie Landry, "when they played Helter Skelter, the part of me that's not asexual felt really sexual". They followed this triumph with a show opening for Jason Anderson and the Best, with Pete Day playing with them for the first time, and then a full-length Pfaff show on June 10th 2006 featuring Pete. This was considered to be their best headlining show ever, with many memorable performances. These included: a reworked version of "Breakin' My Heart"; a cover of Modest Mouse's "Talking Shit About a Pretty Sunset", where Dewey dueted with Ben Hirsch; and a show-stopping cover of Stars' "One More Night", featuring Allie Landry and Fred Soligan singing with Dewey, while Doug Linse and Matt Aucoin played battling guitar and keyboard solos. Denouement, Final Show 'Nuff Said's activity began petering out throughout 2006. The practices for the June 10th show had been sporadic, and they didn't play together after that until they began rehearsing for the year's Fallfest. This brought about a burst of creativity. They began writing several new songs, only one of which saw the light of day, an unnamed song written in Spanish. Their Fallfest performance was considered to be their rawest, most straightforward show yet. After this, they did nothing until their appearance at the first Acoustic Coffeehouse, which, in spite of little preparation and many technical difficulties, they played two of their most legendary performances: a cover of Justin Timberlake's "SexyBack", and a show closing slow, piano driven cover of Muse's "Plug In Baby", which they segued into a cover of the Home Depot jingle. They left the audience thoroughly confused that night. Then, they did absolutely nothing until their triumphant performance at the second Acoustic Coffeehouse, considered by many to be one of the highest points of their career (They actually didn't do anything, only Dewey and Linse even played together before this show, and they didn't even play any of those songs at the show). They closed with a performance of "7-11" (the first time they had played it in two years), which many consider to be their best performance of any song ever. Then, once again, they did nothing for several months. 'Nuff Said played what is assumed to be their final show on June 9, the second Springfest, a performance which was considered by all to be unsatisfying. They opened with a strong performance of the Beatles' "Golden Slumbers", but launched afterwards into a forgettable new song that will likely never be heard again. They followed this with a reworked version of "Ripped Out" (okay), then a cover of Ted Leo's "Counting Down the Hours". They closed the night with a three-way psuedo-medly. Alex H (of The Tangents) joined them for a rendition of the Pete Day As A Band tune "The Desert", which segued into "Purple Bricks". Their set ended when they had the power turned off by the stage crew as they meandered through a lackluster rendition of the chorus of "Day Old Representation". And that was it. Future? All of the members of 'Nuff Said have expressed desire to play together again, although there are currently no plans to do so. They have almost reunited on various occasions. Doug and Sutton recorded several acoustic songs together at the end of summer 07, it was meant to be an acoustic 'Nuff EP, but J was never around to record. Most recently, they almost had a full-fledged reunion during The Jamie O'Connell Quatro's set, but they decided against it, for if they were to play a reunion performance, they would want to make sure it would be awesome. =Rivalries= 'Nuff Said have had many rivalries throughout their existence. Elephantom Currently, they have an unspoken rivalry with Elephantom. This is unlike Aguasaurus's rivalry with them, however, as the rivalry between 'Nuff and Elephantom is of the musical sort, as opposed to the personal sort (Although they weren't too happy with Doug Linse's bashing of the drum kit at Acoustic Coffee House #2). Each is competing for musical dominance. Elephantom have slowly taken the lead, but 'Nuff is looking to take it back. The Internet Fetishes 'Nuff Said sort of had a rivalry with The Internet Fetishes. It was actually more just that Jamie O'Connell didn't like them. However, at their last collaboration concert with The Internet Fetishes, O'Connell's relationship with the band was excellent, and O'Connell was spotted purchasing their album after the show. Crow When Crow originally released "Don't Squirm", many Wazoo members proclaimed him to be the new big Wazoo musical artist. Most said that he was better than 'Nuff. 'Nuff were in sort of a slump at this point, not having done much since their performance at JFF2. It seemed like Crow was poised to be the prevalant Wazoo musical act. However, when they both performed at CFF, 'Nuff Said delivered what was at the time their strongest performance, while Crow's set was plagued with technical difficulties. The Crow fervor faded, as did the 'Nuff boredom. For the rest of Crow's existence, they were on even ground. They even collaborated several times on their recordings and performances. =Legends of the 'Nuff= The 'Nuff are almost as well known for their legendary and sometimes stupid behaviour as they are their music. *Jamie O'Connell was notorious for disappearing during practices. **While practicing for their first concert ever, at the Legion, he disappeared somewhere into Dan Mullaney's house. To this day, no one is sure where exactly he was. he was found eventually in a back room in the Mullaney's basement, all though they had already checked this room several times. Footage of this search found it's way into the Burgermeister skit. **During a particularly tense practice for the June 10th 2006 Pfaff Center show, Jamie went upstairs for some reason. When he did not return after nearly twenty minutes, the rest of the band went to look for him, and found that he wasn't actually in the house. They waited for him for well over an hour, during which they wrote the song "Lee Travino". They learned that he had left and gone to Cory Pray's house. This, was the original story at least. O'Connell later admitted he was present during the creation of Lee Travino-- sitting quietly in a closet about 4 feet from the drumset, being played by Linse. However, O'Connell would assume percussion for the rest of the song's history. *During the only practice O'Connell, Linse and Dewey had together before the second Acoustic Coffehouse, they spent the whole time playing Mims' "This Is Why I'm Hot". *During one of two practices for the first Acoustic Coffeehouse, they kept trying to play the Ted Leo song "Counting Down the Hours", yet, whenever they got to a certain point, Pete Day would begin shouting made-up lyrics over all of the other members, most specifically Offspring lyrics (i.e. "Hey, well why don't you get a job") *During one practice, for perhaps the May 7 2005 concert, whenever the band tried playing any song, O'Connell would start playing the same wrong drumbeat. For the whole practice. *They spent a practice for the November 23rd 2004 concert arguing about the Yellowcard song "Way Away". =Albums, Singles and EPs= 'Nuff Said EP tracks: *Breakin My Heart *Day Old Representation *San Philly (Doug Linse Remix #1) *Sally Jane(Doug Linse Remix #1) *Kung Fo Fighting This ep has never been heard by almost anyone because it was stolen by Andrew Thomas Worse Than Before, Better Than Ever Tracks: *Breakin My Heart *West San Philly *Superman *Mr. Vick E. Dance *Sally Jane *X-Ray Hamburger (The Network cover) *7-11 *I Before E (Slow Version) *Kung Fu Fighting *Day Old Representation *'Nuff Said *Toaster *Matrixy *West San Philly (New Version) *Slow Nerve Action (Flaming Lips cover) Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?6ppzmyzmm4d The Slow Album The Slow album contains slow versions, usually piano renditions, of famous 'Nuff Said songs. Tracklisting: *West San Philly *Mr. Vick E Dance *Down With The Sickness (Disturbed cover) *Matrixy *99 Red Balloons (Nena cover) *Superman *Dig (ft. Crow) *Sally Jane *Breakin' My Heart *Stand By Me (Ben E. King cover) *Regulate (Hidden Track) (213 cover) Although it didn't make it onto the album, 7/11 was recorded. It later found it's way onto the Christmas EP. Also attempted was a studio version of the live favourite "Under the Milkyway", by the Church, but no usable takes existed. http://www.mediafire.com/?dzwjjyri4tk Spring '05 Sampler Given out for free in the weeks leading up to the May 7th 2005 Pfaff Center concert. Mostly a compilation of old songs, it also contained three new recordings. Tracklisting: *Wednesday *'Nuff Said *Dig (ft. Crow) *Matrixy (new recording) *Crater Lake Day Before EP Recorded to sell at Fallfest, this EP ended up being handed out for free. It contained the new tracks from the Spring '05 sampler, minus Crater Lake and plus a new recording of Superman, a live version of Slow Nerve Action and one new song. Tracklisting: *Mirror in the Sky *Matrixy (new recording) *Wednesday *Slow Nerve Action (live at the Pfaff Center, May 7, 2005) (Flaming Lips cover) *Superman (new recording) Christmas EP A compilation of Christmas songs recorded throughout 'Nuff Said's career. It was given out as a gift to fans. Tracklisting: *We Wish You A 'Nuff Said Christmas *White Christmas (Bing Crosby cover) *Little Drummer Boy *7-11 (Slow Version) *Whoville Song *Integration of the Distant Soul *Monkey Sex MySpace Songs Every so often, the 'Nuff would post a song on MySpace that had never been released before. *Doug's Untitled Folk Song *You're Beautiful (James Blunt cover) *Purple Bricks (live version) *New Born (live Muse cover) =Videos= *Breakin' My Heart *West San Philly *Day Old Representation *7-11 *X-Ray Hamburger *Purple Bricks =Internal Links= *List of 'Nuff Said concerts *Making the Band =External Links= *Nuff Said's MySpace *Nuff Said's Purevolume